The United States military has secretly sent a task force of more than 150 planners and other specialists to Jordanaccros To help the armed forces there handle a flood of Syrian refugees, prepare for the possibility that Syria will lose control of its chemical weapons and be positioned should the turmoil in Syria expand into a wider conflict.

The task force, which has been led by a senior American officer, is based at a Jordanian military training center built into an old rock quarry north of Amman. It is now largely focused on helping Jordanians handle the estimated 180,000 Syrian refugees who have crossed the border and are severely straining the country’s resources.

American officials familiar with the operation said the mission also includes drawing up plans to try to insulate Jordan, an important American ally in the region, from the upheaval in Syria and to avoid the kind of clashes now occurring along the border of Syria and Turkey.

The officials said the idea of establishing a buffer zone between Syria and Jordan — which would be enforced by Jordanian forces on the Syrian side of the border and supported politically and perhaps logistically by the United States — had been discussed. But at this point the buffer is only a contingency.

Syria's army has rushed extra troops to Idlib after a strategic town in the northwestern province was seized by rebels, cutting off routes to the embattled commercial capital Aleppo, a watchdog said Wednesday.

"Helicopters are overflying the area," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, without elaborating on how many additional troops were on their way to the town of Maaret al-Numan.

The Britain-based Observatory said six civilians were killed in army shelling of Maaret al-Numan on Tuesday, while 12 rebel fighters died in the fight for control of the town.

The Observatory had on Tuesday reported that rebels overran Maaret al-Numan, on the highway linking Damascus with Aleppo, after a fierce 48-hour gunbattle and heavy shelling.

"Regular forces pulled back from all of their checkpoints around Maaret al-Numan, except for one at the entrance of the town," said Abdel Rahman.

"This is a strategic location on the route from Damascus to Aleppo. All the regime reinforcements headed to Aleppo must pass through Maaret al-Numan."

NATO Commends Turkish “Restraint in Response to Syria Attacks”NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned Tuesday against the dangers of the conflict in Syria escalating, saying alliance member Turkey had shown commendable restraint in response to shelling of its border area.NATO SG

"I would like to commend the Turkish government for the restraint it has shown in its response to the completely unacceptable Syrian attacks," Rasmussen said as he went into a two-day NATO defense ministers meeting.

"Obviously Turkey has a right to defend herself within international law," he said, noting that the alliance too has "all necessary plans in place to protect and to defend Turkey if necessary."We hope it won't be necessary, we hope that both countries will show restraint and avoid an escalation of the crisis," he added.

Reports in Ankara Tuesday said Turkey's top military commander General Necdet Ozel had inspected troops in southeastern Hatay province near the Syrian border, a day after a Syrian shell landed in a nearby town.

The New York Times daily revealed that the United States military has secretly sent a task force of more than 150 planners and other specialists to Jordan.In its Wednesday's edition, the US famous newspaper stated that its country's step came " to help the armed forces there handle a flood of Syrian refugees, prepare for the possibility that Syria will lose control of its chemical weapons and be positioned should the turmoil in Syria expand into a wider conflict."

The task force, which has been led by a senior American officer, is based at a Jordanian military training center built into an old rock quarry north of Amman.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday that he will keep supporting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and called for the US to rethink its stance toward the war-shattered nation.Hours after his re-election, Chavez stated that he thinks the conflict in Syria has been provoked by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's enemies abroad to try to topple him."The government of the United States is one of those most responsible for this disaster," Chavez said at a news conference, calling for President Barack Obama to take a different track.

Syria Says Turkey Allows al-Qaida to Cross its BordersDAMASCUS, Syria (Associated Press)—Syria accused Turkey Sunday of allowing thousands of Muslim extremists to cross into its territory, as the government and opposition said an explosion killed at least seven and cut off a main road leading south from the capital.

In letters to the U.N. Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Turkey allowed “thousands of al-Qaida, Takfiri and Wahhabi terrorists” access to the country in order to “kill innocent Syrians, blow up their properties and spread chaos and destruction.”

Syrian authorities blame the anti-government uprising that began in March last year on a foreign conspiracy and accuse Gulf countries Saudi Arabia and Qatar, along with the U.S, other Western countries and Turkey, of offering funding and training to the rebels, whom they describe as “terrorists.”

Turkey serves as headquarters for the leaders of the Free Syrian Army rebels and hosts many meetings of the Syrian National Council opposition group. Relations between Turkey and Syria, once strong allies, have been deteriorating since after the crisis began last year and Ankara became one of President Bashar Assad’s harshest critics.

An increasing number of “foreign elements” including jihadist are operating in Syria, an independent U.N. panel confirmed yesterday in its first report to say that outside “terrorists” have joined a war spiraling out of control.

The investigative panel appointed by the Human Rights Council said some of these forces are joining armed anti-government groups while others are operating on their own. “Such elements tend to push anti-government fighters towards more radical positions,” the head of the panel, Brazilian diplomat and Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, told diplomats. He referred to the foreigners as “terrorists,” though the word did not appear in the written report, according to the Associated Press.

An increasing number of “foreign elements” including jihadist are operating in Syria, an independent U.N. panel confirmed yesterday in its first report to say that outside “terrorists” have joined a war spiraling out of control.

The investigative panel appointed by the Human Rights Council said some of these forces are joining armed anti-government groups while others are operating on their own. “Such elements tend to push anti-government fighters towards more radical positions,” the head of the panel, Brazilian diplomat and Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, told diplomats. He referred to the foreigners as “terrorists,” though the word did not appear in the written report, according to the Associated Press.

An increasing number of “foreign elements” including jihadist are operating in Syria, an independent U.N. panel confirmed yesterday in its first report to say that outside “terrorists” have joined a war spiraling out of control.

"The Foreign Element".Sounds like a good name for a movie on terrorism.The hypocrisy... as if no one had the balls to rightfully name them, sinnce we all know who they are.

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 22652713

That's right, and most of the people are not aware of this,They are so badly brainwashed sheeps with their heads in the sand, that even if you came with a pile of proof, they continue to not want to understand, and see the truth !!!

U.S. secret mission sent to Jordan for controlling Syrian chemical weapons: report

The United States military has secretly sent a task force of more than 150 planners and other specialists to Jordan to help the armed forces there to prepare for the possibility that Syria could lose control of its chemical weapons and be positioned should the turmoil in Syria expand into a wider conflict, a report published by the New York Times on Wednesday said.

The secret mission, led by a senior American officer, will also help in handling the estimated 180,000 Syrian refugees who have crossed the border and are severely straining the country’s resources, the report said.The task force is based at a Jordanian military training center built into an old rock quarry north of Amman.

According to the report, U.S. officials familiar with the operation said the mission includes drawing up plans to try to insulate Jordan, a strong U.S., from the upheaval in Syria and to avoid the kind of clashes now occurring along the border of Syria and Turkey.

A covert task force was sent to Jordan in case Syria loses control of its chemical weapons, US officials said. The team will be stationed at a base 35 miles from the Syrian border, making it the US military’s closest presence to the embattled nation.

A 150-member team of planners and other military specialists was covertly deployed in Jordan to aid the country’s army with the influx of refugees across its tumultuous border with Syria, US officials told the New York Times.

In addition to helping manage the 180,000 Syrian refugees estimated to have fled across the border, the task force will also reportedly weigh measures like establishing a border buffer zone and a humanitarian corridor.

The US personnel will be based in a training center north of the city of Amman, close to Syria’s southern border. The facility will become the US military’s foothold nearest to Syria, and could be used to launch an intervention if Washington changes its stance in the conflict.

Both Washington and the Jordanian government declined to comment on the covert operation.

The US and Israel will commence the largest-ever joint air defense drill of its kind in Israel on October 21, an army source said on Tuesday.

The exercise, named Austere Challenge 12, was originally scheduled for last spring but was postponed due to regional tensions with Iran.

On October 14, large numbers of American soldiers are expected to begin arriving in Israel, where they will set up aerial defense positions on Israeli territory and on US Navy vessels off the Israeli coastline.

The three-week drill will simulate various missile defense scenarios, and is expected to end with a live-fire interception of a decoy incoming Patriot missile.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blames the “bloc thinking” of Western countries for failing to adjust to the present realities.

"Unfortunately, the Euro-Atlantic military-political processes are lagging behind the rapidly changing realities,” Lavrov said at the Federation Council on Wednesday. “The political elites of a number of Western countries are still obviously backsliding into bloc thinking."

"Certain politicians wish to reanimate the image of a geopolitical adversary in the person of our country,” the minister said, adding that such scare tactics helps to preserve “a strong military-political bond between the United States and European NATO members."

The US military has sent a task force to Jordan to help it handle an influx of Syrian refugees and prepare for other scenarios, including Damascus losing control of its chemical weapons, a senior US defence official said Wednesday.

A 150-strong force of planners and specialists -- led by a senior US officer -- was looking at ways to prevent the increasingly bloody Syrian civil war from spilling across Jordan's borders, said the official, who was attending NATO talks in Brussels and who asked not to be named.

They are based at an outpost north of the capital Amman and just 35 miles (55 kilometers) from the border, making it the closest US military presence to the Syrian conflict.

The United States says it is providing non-lethal aid to the rebels, refraining so far from providing arms because of fears they could end up in the hands of hardline Islamist groups taking part in the struggle.

US President Barack Obama has however warned of a broader intervention should Syria use or lose control of its chemical weapons arsenal

your thread says Turkey clashes continue, as far I see there has not been another mortar attack today...

Or did I missed it ????

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 25203007

We all miss it, since there is a media blackout everydayOn syria crisis, even on the internet some syrian newspapers are not accessible.

The Daily clash reports between Turkey and Syria, as isaw this week coming out everyday around 16H Europa time.

Turkey will respond more harshly if attacks continue: Chief of General StaffTurkey is prepared to answer with more force against Syria if mortars from the Arab republic continue to hit Turkish territory, Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel told reporters today.

Speaking from the border town of Akçakale, Özel said "Turkey already responded, and will respond even stronger" if attacks continued.

Iran "US uses terrorists to wage cheap wars"A senior Iranian commander calls it a US tactic to use terrorists for cheap warfare, commenting on the State Department’s recently removing the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist group from its list of terrorist organizations.

Deputy Commander of Iran’s Armed Forces Chiefs of Staff, Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said, “The US tactics include using terrorist groups to wage cheap wars against those who oppose it (Washington).”

Referring to the act of delisting, which took place in late September, he said, “The US act of removing the name of the group from the list of terrorist groups has only taken place for blatant use of the group against the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“The US and its allies, by removing the group’s name from the list of terrorist groups, are trying to psychologically prepare the situation so other countries accept them.”

Iraqi PM: Turkey not threatened by Syria, don't overblow war or drag in NATONATO must not use protecting Turkey as a pretext to intervene in Syria, the Iraqi PM said during a Russian press conference. The statement followed an escalation of tensions between Turkey and Syria following last week’s cross-border shelling.“The story goes that supposedly Syrian planes dropped bombs on Turkish territory, but everything has been over-exaggerated, even if it did really happen,”

Nouri al-Maliki said.

He argued that no one was threatening Turkey, and that there was no need for them to call on NATO for support.“Turkey is being presumptuous, you could say, as if it were taking responsibility for solving the Syrian conflict instead of the Syrian people and wants to impose its own solution. For this reason the international community needs to stop Turkey from intervening,”

he said.

Al-Maliki is on a three-day visit to Russia, where he said that Iraq's position on Syria is similar to Russia's one as both countries are calling for peaceful resolution of the conflict. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin postponed a visit to Ankara, Turkey, because of his busy schedule this month, the Kremlin press office told RT.

Putin’s decision to postpone the visit came amid increased antagonism between the neighboring countries. Previously, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appealed to Damascus and Ankara to negotiate to avert an escalation in the conflict, referring to the shelling as a“tragic casualty.”